Everyone Sins
by KatsuraKotaro
Summary: A play type fanfic centering around the events in Nibelheim with Lucrecia, Hojo, Vincent and more. There is a mix of drama, humour and poetic interludes ...
1. Act One

Everyone Sins   
a play

Notes (or recommended reading) : This subject is a very peculiar one for me, due to the fact that I have never displayed nor felt an interest in this line of the Final Fantasy VII story ... only where Aeris comes into it ... so this work will be flawed, but who really cares anyway? Everyone else screws around with the facts, and it's not as if I, a member of the British gaming audience, am offered a great deal in our version of the game anyway. So how was I ever supposed to know, aside from doing internet research? Anyway, what inspired me were other writings concerning the members of the Jenova Project, and suddenly Lucrecia became very endearing to me. The soldiers are my own creations, a little light relief really. Do not fear whenever the characters lapse into poetic monologues or exchanges ... I sometimes like to do that. It's in a play form because I was bored of straight story telling and it's a challenge! Perhaps fanatics can perform it, you know, if they were that weird. Or, maybe not. Act Two will arrive shortly!!

All Final Fantasy VII characters belong to Square-Enix. Original characters © me.

ACT ONE

Characters

HOJO, a scientist working for Shin-ra.   
LUCRECIA, a scientist and Hojo's wife.   
GAST, a scientist.

VINCENT, a Turk.   
NEVEER, a soldier.   
BLOIS, a soldier.

IFALNA, an Ancient.   
AERIS, daughter of Ifalna and Gast.

HOTELIER   
NOYA, a young, local woman.   
MAN ONE   
MAN TWO

Notes On The Set

The rooms featured in the play should be portrayed using a 'box-set' and the props should be as realistic as possible. For the outdoor scenes, the back wall of the stage should be visible with a thin sheet of material veiling it; blue for daytime, black for nighttime scenes. There should be numerous entrances and exits in the outdoor scenes to add variety and give a sense that the area is larger than it is on stage. Sometimes when an actor enters a scene, they should begin talking before entering the stage, particularly when 'outside'. The well in Nibelheim and other large props should be placed on stage by means of trapdoors to save time during scene changes. The scene changes should be carried out by the extra townspeople.

Scene One : Hotel Foyer, Nibelheim

A small hotel foyer with double doors and two large windows either side. Afternoon sunlight streams through onto the wooden floor, leaving the desk area in semi-shade. The stairs are narrow and made of light-coloured wood. A worn red rug lies in the centre of the stage. There is a vase of fresh flowers on the desk beside the HOTELIER, who stands with a pen in hand.

HOTELIER: My my, what bags!   
Enter NEVEER.   
HOTELIER: So bulging with god knows what! Are you all right there? Is this the sort of training Shin-ra soldiers get? Ha ha. If you just put them down there and sign this here ...   
NEVEER: I suppose I'd better sign at the bottom. I am part of the lowly constituency, along with Blois. Even that Turk is higher than us! Gah, I guess if you've got brawn you go to the bottom, but if you've got brains you go to the top. Like Professor Hojo. Can't lift a monkey's arm without sweating. But knows more than a mortal should.   
HOTELIER: Thank you. Excuse me, but where are the others? This is a suite for five.   
NEVEER: Oh, so you have got the right reservation. I was rather hoping that you'd get it wrong and we'd end up in the boiler room or under the creaking stairs in some damp cupboard. That'd give those hotshot scientists something to think about. Do you know how much they earn? Millions. For what? For gassing babies and impregnating lizards. Don't look so shocked. Anyway, Blois is draining the pipe, not to be crude. He'll be along. As for the usual suspects, I don't have a clue. Left them in the van.   
HOTELIER: Well, I shall await their arrival with intense ... curiosity.   
Enter BLOIS.   
BLOIS: Do you see that mad professor out there? He's still young and look, left me to carry all his equipment.   
NEVEER: You're younger than him. And stronger. And lowlier.   
BLOIS: Well, can't complain. He almost smiled at me. I was starry-eyed. Not that I like him in any way, of course, but it would be a world first. He never ceases to scowl, even at his new wife.   
HOTELIER: Am I to presume then that Miss Lucrecia is now Mrs Lucrecia?   
BLOIS: You can bet your bottom gil she is. Nice sparkly ring and all. Check it out if you get the opportunity. Oh, here they come! Vinnie's an all right sort, though. There's only one thing that really annoys him.   
HOTELIER: What's that?   
BLOIS: People calling him Vinnie.   
HOTELIER: Ah.   
Enter VINCENT, HOJO and LUCRECIA.   
HOTELIER: Welcome to the Nibelheim Plaza, most distinguished guests.   
NEVEER: Aside to BLOIS. He never welcomed me like that.   
BLOIS: Aside to NEVEER. This is the worst 'Plaza' I've ever seen.   
HOJO: Hmph. Where do I sign?   
LUCRECIA: It's a lovely part of the countryside out here, do you not agree, darling? Nicer than the plains of roaming chocobos around Midgar. Less flat. Such amazing black mountain peaks ... I would very much like to climb up them.   
HOJO: Not without my consent you won't.   
HOTELIER: The suite is room numbers one, two and three. Here are the keys.   
BLOIS: Uh, how many rooms are in this hotel?   
HOTELIER: Four.   
NEVEER: What's in number four?   
HOTELIER: That would be my room.   
HOJO: Exasperated. Right. Get going upstairs. Leave our equipment here, Valentine can guard it. Just take the personal bags.   
NEVEER: We know, we know.   
Exit HOJO, LUCRECIA, NEVEER and BLOIS.   
HOTELIER: You must be the Turk, Vincent Valentine?   
VINCENT: Yes. I'm not sure why I'm here actually ... I should be prowling the underground depths of slum life in Midgar. That was my job description. Not to baby-sit scientists.   
HOTELIER: What are in those cases?   
VINCENT: It would be best if you never knew.

Scene Two : Hotel Room One, Nibelheim

A spacious, warmly furnished room with two large beds dominating one wall, and a table with three chairs on the opposite side. HOJO is pacing in the middle, holding various documents and leafing through them. LUCRECIA is sat on one of the beds, folding her clothes.

LUCRECIA: This is a comfortable room. I shall be happy here.   
HOJO: Distant. Good. Hmmm? Yes, I have plenty of room for pacing. Oh, I almost forgot.   
LUCRECIA: What?   
HOJO: Dialling. I told Gast I would contact him upon our arrival. Some distance, a call to Icicle Inn ... Hello? ... No, I want Professor Gast of 13 Ha ... Hold? I suppose I'll have to. Communications are abominable nowadays, Crecia. You'd have thought things would be increasingly ... Hello? ... Yes, Professor, it's me, Hojo ... Thank you. No, I ... You have what? ... When? ... Well I must say, I'm looking forward to this. It would be an honour ... Goodbye.   
LUCRECIA: So?   
HOJO: He's coming next week. I always anticipate the old fool's visits, yet this time it's all the more exciting. He's bringing a lady friend. Well, he thinks she is. But really ... oh, she's a Cetra! Can you believe this? A Cetra!   
LUCRECIA: You ... are not being serious, darling? Surely not ...   
HOJO: Excited. It is true, Crecia. I must tell - well, who can I tell? No one sees the benefits of this better than you and I. Just think ... a new, pure specimen ripe for extreme experimentation. Imagine the possibilities!   
LUCRECIA: I'm not convinced. This is a woman, right? Just like me. You wouldn't do this sort of thing to me, would you?   
HOJO: Of course not.   
LUCRECIA: I don't know if it's the right thing to do. Don't tell me you're going to, as you put it, 'breed' her? How inhumane!   
HOJO: To be a scientist is to be inhumane. We do this so that other people can afford to be humane and have silly morals, and obligations to faith and society.   
LUCRECIA: I'm not convinced.   
Looks out the window.   
I love the scenery. Promise you'll take me to the reactor before we have to leave!   
HOJO: Fine.   
LUCRECIA: I want to see the mountains close up with my own eyes. It could be dangerous, so we'll have to take the others with us. What on earth do they keep in that reactor? I'm sure it's different from the ones in Midgar.   
HOJO: Indeed. Not even I have been briefed upon the contents of it. We shall be conducting most of our work from the Shin-ra mansion on the other side of town. They have some decent facilities there ... not to mention a vast collection of literature focusing upon the Cetra.   
LUCRECIA: After this I should like a trip to the North. The most fantastic natural land formation ... the Crater.   
HOJO: Call it that if you must.   
LUCRECIA: What?   
HOJO: Natural. Its origins are thought to be far from natural. You should discuss this with Gast. He is the expert, after all. I'm much more fascinated with modern science.   
LUCRECIA: So I've noticed ...   
Enter VINCENT.   
VINCENT: Professors, are we ready to go to the mansion yet?   
HOJO: Yes, yes, Valentine. Lucrecia needs some more time to pack away, as usual. I'll round up those two idiotic soldiers, although what purpose they serve is beyond me.   
Exit HOJO.   
VINCENT: Do you need any help?   
LUCRECIA: Oh no, no.   
VINCENT: I was watching you on the journey here. You look ... tired. The sparkle has gone from your eyes.   
LUCRECIA: Oh, so we're discussing personal issues now? Fine. So do you want to ask me something?   
VINCENT: Why did you so hastily get married? And to him, of all people.   
LUCRECIA: We happen to have a lot in common.   
VINCENT: Give me details of what happened.   
LUCRECIA: All right. It must have been four weeks ago when he asked me. I suppose it was a request rather than a proposal. He's not exactly romantic. I think we both felt it was right for all the convenient reasons.   
VINCENT: Couldn't you have waited for love?   
LUCRECIA: I don't think so. No, it would be very difficult for me to find love, given my circumstances. I don't have much of a social life, as you can probably tell.   
VINCENT: Well, you found this husband at work. Would it be so hard to consider that another may have come along? Oh ... I'm sorry. This is highly inappropriate.   
LUCRECIA: No ... I ... I just have my reasons, Vincent. Please respect that.   
VINCENT: Yes. I'm sorry. Excuse me.   
Exit VINCENT.   
Pause.   
LUCRECIA: I don't know why it happened so fast. How absurd. If only Mother could see these events from her grave. She'd frown at me. She was a romantic sort, wasn't she? Nothing like this husband of mine. Wait for love, she used to say, right? That's what Vincent said too. Why don't I listen to others? Like that fortuneteller, in the tent by the side of Gongaga Road. He warned me not to waste my time, but I did. She told me he had a dark, sinister future. What is he going to do? Kill someone?   
Laughs.   
I'm sorry, Mother, I'm weak and a fool for knowing it. I couldn't turn a beggar down. 'Marry me, and we shall have a spacious pipe to live in, in the safe confines of Sector Eight'. So a scientist with everything within his grasp asks me, and I can't refuse because if I do someone else will have him ... and I'd feel jealous. I can't have Vincent doing the same to him. I won't be untrue to him. What has he to offer me anyhow?   
She stands and stares into the distance. The sound of wind outside can be faintly heard.   
But ... I would very much like ... I want the wind to carry me further than his arms ever could. If I have a purpose in the world, I know it's not enough to live this normal life to fulfil it. Call it ambition, call it selfish, but I know what I desire is out of the reach of mortal hands. What I want to see with my eyes cannot exist. It's too wonderful to even describe. Mother, Mother, you always gave me fantasies of a better life, and don't you regret it now? I used to spend so much time dreaming about it. The man in my mind, the one I wish would love me in some castle somewhere, is not here and now I'm married to this ... pervert. I know what he is, I cannot allow myself to think well of him. Oh god, what have I done? Such dark, dark things are going to happen, I can sense it. The fortuneteller said. What she said ... it cannot be true. Yet I hide my doubts, inside of me, all the time.   
She sits, subdued, on the floor.   
If he hurts me, what could I do? Like the women he's ruined before, would I live as a shadow or die? Or would my spirit learn to stay in the darkness, unseen, in a world of memories? The unforgiving past eating at me every day, forever until I can rest. I love my ideal, but I won't ever find it in this place, this place which hides the daylight. The light of another world will never touch me. I'll go mad before I will feel like I'm at home. I was never meant to live this barren life!

Scene Three : Mansion Library, Nibelheim

The next week. Never-ending shelves of books surround the space in the centre of the room, with a writing desk at one end and a different table at the other. On this table are varying types of scientific equipment. Not visible to the audience, NEVEER and BLOIS are outside the door. HOJO and LUCRECIA are inside, going through the extensive collection of books.

HOJO: If you find a Gast volume, don't keep it to yourself. I want to know everything that has ever gone through that magnificent brain of his. He must have filled pages and pages with information for minds like us to heartily devour.   
LUCRECIA: We are one-of-a-kinds, wouldn't you agree?   
HOJO: Indeed. Most people I know hate the very notion of studying. Those with a loose cable or two in their heads can't sit and take something in for more than ten minutes, and then they pursue meaningless endeavours to occupy their mental restlessness. I've seen it a hundred times. Take students, for example. After over ten years of continuous learning they become fed up and even potentially intelligent individuals are transformed into lazy souls who will never do anything. But we are far superior.   
LUCRECIA: Was school not a fun time for you, hmm?   
HOJO: I enjoyed the company of books and my teachers' knowledge. The rest was pointless and soul-destroying. That's why I'm the cold person before you today.   
LUCRECIA: Would you believe that I was a little bit rebellious? Only sometimes. The only classes I bothered with were science and maths because I was confident with the subject matter.   
HOJO: I never bothered with the creative subjects. Waste of my time. Science is art enough for me.   
LUCRECIA: I used to sit and wander into the realm of thoughts ... a realm so distant now I shudder to know of what I once thought. What it was, what I knew, inside my head, was unnecessary, a dream. You'd have hated it.   
HOJO: Lucrecia? I'm not certain that your babbling is necessary either. Please just help me.   
LUCRECIA: Sorry, darling.   
HOJO: Hmmm. I shall feel easier when Gast turns up.   
LUCRECIA: He should be here any time. Vince- Valentine is keeping a look out at the town gate. Ah-ha! Oooh, I've found one. 'An Introduction To Cetra Culture, Habitat And Traditions'. By Gast.   
HOJO: Let me see. Give it to me. Haaa, you're right. Sits at desk. I'd prefer one about the biological structure of Cetra, but this will do for now. Continue the search.   
LUCRECIA: That's what I'm doing.   
Enter VINCENT.   
VINCENT: Excuse me. Professor Gast has arrived. He is making his way here.   
LUCRECIA: Good.   
HOJO: And the woman, uh, his lady friend?   
VINCENT: Yes.   
HOJO: Yes, what?   
VINCENT: She's here.   
HOJO: Right. Leave us now, Valentine. Lucrecia, put this book away, quickly. I don't want him to think - to think, I'm researching him. No. That would be embarrassing, wouldn't it?   
Exit VINCENT.   
LUCRECIA: I suppose.   
HOJO: And cheer up a little. What sort of impression would he get from that gloomy face of yours? But don't be too happy. We scientists cannot afford to be informal. All right?   
LUCRECIA: Yes.   
HOJO: Here they come.   
Enter GAST and IFALNA.   
HOJO: Professor, I am very glad that you had a safe passage from Midgar. Welcome.   
GAST: Thank you for your brevity at our arrival, Hojo, but we did not come from Midgar.   
HOJO: Really? Where, then?   
GAST: ... let me see your new wife. I am very pleased to meet you, Madam.   
LUCRECIA: Oh, no no. I am the one in awe, Professor. If anyone can make my husband quiver in reverence, then they are surely the equivalent of a God.   
HOJO: Lucrecia!   
GAST: So nicely put. I am very impressed. Well, this is my ... this is Ifalna. She is quiet, but well behaved with it.   
HOJO: It's a shame Lucrecia is not the same.   
GAST: Come now, it must be a favourable quality - you have someone to discuss and argue with. Say hello, Ifalna.   
IFALNA: Nodding. Hello.   
HOJO: This is a fantastic place, is it not, Professor? A hotbed of knowledge at our fingertips.   
GAST: Indeed. Well, we must book into the inn, we've left our bags at the foyer. Come along, Ifalna. I am sorry we have to leave, but we shall see you both this evening.   
LUCRECIA: For dinner? How lovely.   
GAST: Hojo, Madam. Farewell.   
Exit GAST and IFALNA.   
HOJO: My my, she is very young, is she not? I never knew Gast had it in him. Ha ha.   
LUCRECIA: Well, what shall we do now? I would like to take a walk before dinner, if that's not too much of an inconvenience.   
HOJO: Fine, fine. Go now, if you must. I will see you later on. I need to catch up on some of Gast's theories. Aha, here's the one - 'An Introduction To Cetra Culture, Habitat And Traditions'. It must have taken a long time to accumulate all this information!   
LUCRECIA: Wasn't listening. I'm sorry, what is it you're doing?   
HOJO: I am going to spend a while at the mercy of Gast's work, a few hours of stimulating scientific moments, an apostasy of my interest in his studies. What else? Hmmm. 'The Cetra were a migrating race, and came to our Planet about 2500 years ago ... the Knowlespole ... the age-old tradition of moving on to other planets was broken by those who refused to leave, and that is the believed source of the human race ...'   
LUCRECIA: Bye, then.   
The stage shifts to the facade of the Shin-ra mansion. VINCENT is leaning against the wall, waiting for LUCRECIA.   
VINCENT: Well, here you are.   
LUCRECIA: I was surprised to hear you accept my invitation. Still up to a stroll?   
VINCENT: As I ever will be. So, how's Professor Gast? He seems much more charismatic than Hojo.   
LUCRECIA: Well, he is more popular. Ahh, the daisies are so enormous on this continent ... what a horrible place Midgar is.   
VINCENT: You love nature. Am I right?   
LUCRECIA: That's why I'm a biologist.   
VINCENT: But what about that Ifalna? How old do you estimate she is?   
LUCRECIA: You're beginning to sound like my husband. I don't know ... say, eighteen, nineteen? Not much younger than me, I suppose. You're the oldie around here!   
VINCENT: Remember Gast! He's been around for as long as I can recall. Besides, I'm not yet thirty. Give me a chance.   
LUCRECIA: I'm sorry.   
VINCENT: How old are you?   
LUCRECIA: Oh, how rude and presumptuous of you! Ladies take offence to that kind of questioning.   
VINCENT: Oh, so -   
LUCRECIA: Twenty.   
VINCENT: You seem more mature.   
LUCRECIA: Are we going for that walk or not?   
VINCENT: Of course. Lead on, m'lady.   
LUCRECIA: Yes, sir Knight. Oh Vincent, this is so ridiculous. We're not children.   
VINCENT: No ...   
Exit LUCRECIA and VINCENT. The view changes to the town square. Enter NEVEER and BLOIS.   
NEVEER: I'm sick of this place. It's too sunny. The grass is so green I feel dizzy. The smell of flowers makes me nauseous. I want to die. I will die of all this natural stuff.   
BLOIS: You're a Midgar boy, through and through.   
NEVEER: Damn right.   
BLOIS: See that lady over there? No no, to the right. That one. With the dress. I like her.   
NEVEER: You fool! That's Gast's woman.   
BLOIS: She is so pretty. You know, the kind of girl you could take to dinner and bring home to meet the parents. I want someone like that. Strong, yet sweet.   
NEVEER: How wonderful. Now I've got to contend with you whispering obscenely romantic notions whenever she appears. I'm going to throw up.   
BLOIS: Aww, come on, Neveer.   
NEVEER: No, seriously, I am. So you'd better shut up right now.   
BLOIS: I wonder ... she's special, right? She has a strange look about her. Not of this earth. Not of any earth.   
NEVEER: You've been at those out-of-date donouts again, haven't you? Come on, let's annoy that hotelier some more. I get such a kick out of it. I'd annoy Hojo if my job didn't depend on it. Or, we could go out fighting. Lots of gil just running through that countryside, you know. Can't let it go to waste.   
BLOIS: Not of any earth ...

Scene Four : A field, outside Nibelheim

VINCENT and LUCRECIA are in a sunny meadow, just beyond the town gates. LUCRECIA repeatedly glances back to the town, to see if HOJO is watching them. There is a soft breeze.

VINCENT: Don't worry. He won't see us. What have we to hide, anyway?   
LUCRECIA: True. Oh, there are so many things I can see in my head. Too much in there. Not only at night, the nightmares come day by day, the thoughts are with me while I sleep.   
VINCENT: What dreams haunt your mind, Crecia? Is it the sense that your thoughts are prey to glorious fantasies? I feel that way too, it's not just you. These dreams come to all upon this Planet ... the Cetra, us, we share the limits of the heart, and the freedom of the mind.   
LUCRECIA: Distant. I once saw ... in a haze ... an ideal.   
VINCENT: What is it that you long for? This ideal.   
The wind picks up a little. Light music, as if in LUCRECIA's mind, drifts across the stage.   
LUCRECIA: I want ... I want a land where the grass waits for me, to step across the field by a little town ... where I live. In a white cottage on a hill. Outside my window the town is in view ... and all the days are sunny and warm and new. What I'd give to have just some hours to waltz into the sun, a path of golden stones to a place where I belong, to go there whenever I please, in peace. I swing by onto a fountain where silver drops tumble in the air, all around me. People watch as I dance in time with the birdsong, the leaves drop, and a wind takes me away ... to a different day. A castle rests in silence far in the distance, we all can see it yet we known it can't be. The gates open for me, and swirls of light transcend the earth, a thousand souls with wings take their birth ... it's not so hard to understand why, oh so many why's, I want this more than my familiar life. I crave to know the truth of life like this. Awe and love is how we look to the heavens above us, in this castle in the sky I am of immortal stature, all because I have the desires and hopes of people like you.   
VINCENT: These are fantasies unknown to him. But at least I can sympathise. Every day, you dream of a better situation, just as I do. He only longs for scientific advances.   
LUCRECIA: What is it that you long for?   
VINCENT: Ohh, it's you, Crecia, can't you see that? I want the Professor's wife. How silly does my imagination seem in this reality ... no, I can accept my lonely fate. The only thing I wish is for you to find your solace, somehow.   
LUCRECIA: I will be bound to him forever. This is a fate I cannot escape. But you have the freedom to follow any path you want.   
VINCENT: What is freedom without you to walk with me?   
Pause.   
LUCRECIA: Vincent, stop chasing these follies like I do. You may hear it tonight, but I must tell you ... this is why I cannot leave him. I have been ill for a few days now, and I can only find one reason. A baby sleeps in me - for its sake, as well as ours, I must remain his wife, for all the time I have left.   
VINCENT: You're pregnant ... that pains me. I'm sorry, Crecia, but it does.   
LUCRECIA: I, I must sound so silly. Don't pay any attention. I'm rambling too much nowadays.   
VINCENT: I couldn't bear to listen to your silence. Do continue.   
LUCRECIA: Look, I should be getting back. Thank you for this opportunity. Darling wouldn't spare the time to listen to all that. I needed to release it all. Shall we be off?   
VINCENT: Of course. But, what do you think ... about my feelings for you?   
LUCRECIA: Ohh ...   
VINCENT: I need to know.   
LUCRECIA: Smiling. If I were single, we'd be able to elope.   
Exit LUCRECIA.   
VINCENT: But until then ... I'll still love you. But what are you a lover or a friend? Because at this time I cannot tell the difference.   
Exit VINCENT.

Scene Five : Hotel Room One, Nibelheim

That evening. A half moon is visible out the window beyond the open door. VINCENT stands guard, listening to the conversation, yet keeping his back turned to the room. There is no sign of NEVEER and BLOIS. The table has been set up in the middle of the room, and an extra chair has been added. Plates litter the table-top, all except IFALNA's section which has one, small plate. An empty bottle of wine is in the centre.

GAST: Splendid. Excellent quality. How strange, I've never spent much time here before ... only fleeting visits. Ifalna, did you not want more? You hardly ate a thing.   
LUCRECIA: You would have been more than welcome.   
IFALNA: Quietly. No thank you.   
GAST: As long as you're sure. Turning to HOJO. Now, shall we begin tomorrow? I am eager to examine the specimen, I must admit.   
HOJO: Of course. It is your decision, Professor.   
GAST: Come now, Hojo, you must learn to consider yourself on my level. You shall be one of the leading scientists in the world one day, mark my words. Not just some snivelling biologist from Shinra's lower floors, surrounded by botanical cabinets and a few scalpels! No, you shall have specimens, real specimens, at your disposal, you shall perform world-altering experiments, autopsies, anything you feel inclined to do for the better of science. Is that not your dream?   
HOJO: Indeed. But I am still young, still learning. But someday, who knows, I may become the Head of Science -   
GAST: Don't get too carried away, Hojo! Good gracious.   
HOJO: No. How foolish of me to say so.   
GAST: I was not being serious. Of course you will become Head of Science. My successor, and how rightly so.   
LUCRECIA: I think he will too, Professor. Sometimes it's all he seems to think about!   
HOJO: Lucrecia!   
GAST: Ha ha, she knows you too well. I rather like your wife, Hojo. I like to have the opportunity of considering a woman as my equal. Most are far too daunted to even talk to me. Ifalna, are you feeling all right?   
IFALNA: Yes.   
GAST: You're ever so quiet. Ifalna isn't usually afraid to open her mouth. It must be a shy day.   
LUCRECIA: Ifalna, would you like to see my wedding dress?   
IFALNA: Looking a little mystified. Oh, yes. Please.   
The women cross to the beds. LUCRECIA retrieves a box from the wardrobe, and opens it to reveal the dress. VINCENT has turned his head to look.   
HOJO: I shall never understand women.   
GAST: No. But you do have a wife now, so you will never have to decipher their mysteries. You're lucky to have Lucrecia.   
HOJO: Yes ...   
LUCRECIA: I had to order it in rather a hurry. But I like it all the same.   
IFALNA: It's beautiful.   
LUCRECIA: Here's a picture of us. Doesn't he look angry? Well, it did rain.   
IFALNA: But you were smiling.   
LUCRECIA: That's right. I had never been more happy. Looks over at HOJO.   
The lights in the room dim, LUCRECIA and IFALNA continue to look at the dress, and GAST and HOJO silently discuss something. The lights beyond the door brighten, and NEVEER and BLOIS appear.   
VINCENT: Where have you two been?   
BLOIS: We got a little lost. It's spooky, up in those mountains, you know. Neveer was feeling a bit peckish for cash.   
VINCENT: Oh, I see. Well take over from me; I have a headache.   
NEVEER: Yes, go and lie down, sir. What's going on in there, anyway?   
VINCENT: Not much, not much.   
Exit VINCENT.   
The lights fade on NEVEER and BLOIS. The room is illuminated once more.   
HOJO: Where did you meet Ifalna, exactly?   
GAST: Oh, out and about, you know. She used to live in Gongaga, not a million miles away from here. She was all alone. She had no one.   
HOJO: Gongaga ... she had no relatives there?   
GAST: No, no. Sad, isn't it? Still, she need not be lonely ever again.   
LUCRECIA and IFALNA cross back to the table. IFALNA smiles at GAST.   
GAST: Well, what a delightful evening. I fear I must retire before long. I do not fare so well at night as I used to. I get very tired.   
LUCRECIA: Just before you leave, Professor, I have an announcement to make.   
HOJO looks at her sternly.   
GAST: Yes?   
LUCRECIA: Well, I may as well say it. Glances to doorway. I ... I'm pregnant.   
GAST: Good gracious! How marvellous. Congratulations.   
IFALNA: Congratulations.   
HOJO is dumbstruck.   
LUCRECIA: Do smile, darling, it's wonderful news. I am now a true wife. I am fulfilling my purpose. Aren't you pleased?   
GAST: He's shocked, by the looks of it. But I expect he's celebrating in silence. He's never been one to make a scene, eh? Good night, the both of you.   
IFALNA: Good night.   
LUCRECIA: Yes, see you in the morning.   
Exit GAST and IFALNA. HOJO and LUCRECIA sit in silence for a moment.   
LUCRECIA: Say something. Please.   
HOJO: I never expected ... this to happen so fast. Remarkable ...   
LUCRECIA: Good. Kisses him on the cheek. I'm going to get ready for bed. I've nearly finished my book. You can leave the light on for now.   
Exit LUCRECIA.   
HOJO: Well done, my wife. You are indeed fulfilling your role, your purpose. I haven't felt more pleased in a long time. Ha ha. This certainly comes at an opportune moment, all very appropriate for the birth of the 'Jenova Project'. This will be my glory, I'll do what I set out to do. And that Cetra ... the very word makes me shudder with excited fear. Or perhaps fearful excitement? I love it. The word spells out my future, which is looking pleasingly bright. For me, at any rate ... I cannot predict Lucrecia's fate. Nor Gast. Who knows? But why is there something pulling me towards the Cetra? A pole, at the radiant north, and a darker, gloomier south pole. When shall they come together? As soon as I instigate something ... it is up to me. It will all be my doing, and my legacy will be determined by my own choices.

The lights dim and HOJO is plunged into semi-darkness. At the front of the stage, LUCRECIA and VINCENT can be seen, as if outside the inn, in a motionless embrace. The curtain falls.


	2. Act Two

Notes: I apologise if the text is all bunched up but there's not much I can do that takes less than a hour ... I suggest making the text larger (look top right of this page if you're not sure about how to do that) and it kinda spaces out the lines. I apologise for my laziness, but it's a serious condition ya know ...;

Oh, and you're interested in seeing exactly what Neveer and Blois look like (I was forced to draw them) just contact me and I'll send you a link to the picture. I'd put the link up here if I didn't think that I'd get into trouble ...

* * *

ACT TWO

Scene One : The Well, Nibelheim

_Eight months later. It is nighttime and_ IFALNA _is outside on her own. There is a solitary street-lamp lighting the scene. The stars are out_.

IFALNA: _Sitting on the well. She speaks directly to the audience._ I've had such a long time to change. Darling tells me I have become more sociable. Which, I suppose, is a good thing. I do so love talking with Lucrecia, and I quite envy her condition. I want a child someday. But darling says I'm still too young. A child myself. Barely nineteen. If you were here, I suppose you'd ask me what I was doing out here, all by myself at night. Well, I can't sleep. Also, I can communicate with the planet in this kind of solitude.  
_She walks over to the street-lamp_.  
He's a kind man, so charming and obliging. I know I'm lucky to have found him. But then again, he still has the blood of a scientist and sometimes I'm fearful of our future. My Cetra ancestry will be my enemy, my own destruction. Oh, but I know I love him, however much I'm fearful. Like a rare moth attracted to an unknowingly dangerous flame. But to me, he's like a sun that melts the winter. To me -  
_Enter_ VINCENT.  
VINCENT: Oh, Miss Ifalna, I did not expect to see you out here. Are you ... all right?  
IFALNA: Yes.  
VINCENT: What - were you saying something? Who were you talking to?  
IFALNA: Oh, no one really. The night, I suppose. The sleeping town.  
VINCENT: To be honest, I have seen you out here like this before. We are both night-wanderers, or so it would appear.  
IFALNA: _Returning to the well_. Hmmm.  
VINCENT: _Climbing up onto the well_. I always liked how the sky here is so much brighter than anywhere else. Then again, the sky is a strange sight to people from Midgar. Like me. It's as if we have never really lived in the world. That's how I've always felt until now.  
IFALNA: Hmmm.  
VINCENT: I always fancied myself as a solitary man, but once I start talking I cannot stop.  
_Pause_.  
VINCENT: Is something the matter?  
IFALNA: No.  
VINCENT: Well, I had better go. You know, you can always talk to me. I'm not a stereotypical Turk - all the time.  
IFALNA: _Laughs quietly_. Yes, you and Lucrecia are wonderful. Thank you.  
VINCENT: Are you quite certain there isn't something on your mind?  
IFALNA: I shall certainly tell you if there is.  
VINCENT: I know you will. Good night, Ifalna.  
IFALNA: Good night.  
_Exit_ VINCENT.  
IFALNA: Waiting until he has gone from her view. Lucrecia has a saint at her disposal. She is lucky to have you, Vincent.

* * *

Scene Two : The Town Square, Nibelheim

_Despite the lively moods of the locals and the town's visitors, the town appears more barren and sombre - there are less flowers, and the well seems to be more dilapidated, a change which was not noticeable in the previous night scene. A few locals are chatting in the background._

NEVEER: I think I may have recovered from my - what was it called? - grass-fever.  
BLOIS: Eh?  
NEVEER: My nose is dry as a bone. But now I'm just left with a pounding headache.  
BLOIS: You are truly the king of pessimism.  
NEVEER: Amen.  
BLOIS: Well. _Looks around the town_. The locals seem excited about something. I've never seen more than two outside at once. And they're talking to each other ... there must be something going on. Probably a fatay.  
NEVEER: A what?  
BLOIS: A fatay. One of those days with sponge cake and big swings and competitions. A fatay.  
NEVEER: A fete.  
BLOIS: No, it's definitely a fatay, with all those sponge cakes it would have to be.  
MAN ONE: 'Ere you two, when are you going back to Midgar? It'd better be soon.  
BLOIS: Why?  
MAN ONE: We're sick of the sight of those blue uniforms.  
NEVEER: Tough. At least you don't have to wear them. I wear this thing so much I've forgotten what I actually look like underneath.  
MAN TWO: Leave 'em alone. They're my best customers, after all. Without their daily patronage, my pie shop would be ... well, there would be no pie shop.  
BLOIS: _Proudly_. Exactly. We're a necessity to your economy.  
NOYA: They're not that much of an eyesore.  
MAN ONE: No, no one ever is in your book, are they Noya?  
NOYA: Oh, stop annoying everyone.  
_Exit_ MAN ONE _and _MAN TWO.  
NOYA: Hello, Blois.  
BLOIS: Noya ... how are things?  
NOYA: _Nodding_. Better than you'd expect. Hello, Neveer.  
NEVEER: _Gulping_. Errr, hello.  
NOYA: I must say, these past few months have been most interesting, haven't they boys?  
NEVEER: I ... I'm not sure, but I'll take your word for it.  
NOYA: I had better go. See you soon. Blois. Neveer.  
_Exit_ NOYA.  
BLOIS: So, you know her as well?  
NEVEER: Never met her before in my life.  
BLOIS: All right, I'm a well-known fool, but I can see straight through that answer. It's not a problem, though.  
NEVEER: Oh?  
BLOIS: I'm not that interested. She's nothing compared with the Midgar ladies.  
NEVEER: I hadn't noticed.  
BLOIS: You lie again!  
NEVEER: Anyway, it's hardly surprising we've both been at large in the town. Have you noticed that the scientists have been summoning us less and less to supervise the mansion? Something's going on.  
BLOIS: Secret.  
NEVEER: Indeed.  
BOTH: Secret.  
NEVEER: We've been together for too long.  
BOTH: Far too long.  
BLOIS: I agree.

* * *

Scene Three : Hotel Room One, Nibelheim

_The room is much more cluttered than the last time we saw it. Amidst the new items, there is no baby equipment to be seen. Only_ IFALNA _holds a teddy bear_. LUCRECIA _sits at the table, occasionally sipping tea_.

IFALNA: I suppose you'll be able to go back to Midgar after the baby's born. Although what kind of a life there is for a child in the city ... I do not know. I certainly wouldn't want my children there. No offence.  
LUCRECIA: I understand, but there's nothing for us outside Midgar. Our jobs are rooted there when this is complete.  
IFALNA: Well, we shall have to correspond.  
LUCRECIA: Of course.  
_A pause_. IFALNA _stares vaguely into the audience_.  
LUCRECIA: Oh, it kicked.  
IFALNA: Really?  
LUCRECIA: Yes, but he kicks so hard.  
IFALNA: He?  
LUCRECIA: Darling would be most upset if it were a girl. "There is no use for a female, only to breed and that would take too long", he said.  
IFALNA: Oh!  
LUCRECIA: No, he meant well. He just has his heart set on a boy. He can seem cold, I know, but he is doing all this for the good of the Planet.  
IFALNA: Yes, Darling told me that too.  
LUCRECIA: Oh, I will be at the library all day tomorrow, so don't think I've disappeared.  
IFALNA: All right. I had better go anyway.  
_They have a friendly hug_.  
_Exit_ IFALNA.  
LUCRECIA _spends a minute slowly tidying the room_. VINCENT _appears at the doorway and watches her for a moment_.  
VINCENT: You don't have to do that.  
LUCRECIA: Oh! You frightened me.  
VINCENT: Forgive me. Please, sit down. You can do that when the baby's born.  
LUCRECIA: Oh, when it's born I'll be able to do a lot of things, I know. People have telling me these past few months. I haven't lost brain cells just because I'm pregnant, you know.  
VINCENT: _Smiles_. That's my Crecia.  
LUCRECIA: _Glancing at the doorway_. I'm not yours though, am I?  
VINCENT: Unfortunately not. But I know we love each other all the same.  
LUCRECIA: Stop it!  
VINCENT: It's the truth, is it not?  
LUCRECIA: Just stop it! You're not helping my aching body, and you're certainly not helping my battered mind!  
VINCENT: You know he's just using you as mere flesh for his means.  
LUCRECIA: Of course. But what can I do now? It's too late.  
VINCENT: Do you love me?  
LUCRECIA: How can I when you persist in asking? Leave me alone.  
VINCENT: Sarcastically. At once, m'lady.  
_Exit_ VINCENT.

* * *

Scene Four : Mansion Library, Nibelheim

_The next day_. HOJO _is preparing some needles and other equipment on the table. Had he been a different kind of man, he would have been humming. Instead, he occasionally stifles some little, private laughs. He then wanders over to a large pile of books and begins to organise them. He is obviously waiting for something or someone._

_Enter _IFALNA.  
IFALNA: _Nervously._ Forgive me. I thought Lucrecia might be here.  
HOJO: I have not seen her, but she should be along shortly. Please, come in.  
IFALNA: Thank you. But I don't want to intrude.  
HOJO: No no, do. Sit down, make yourself comfortable. I really recommend these chairs. Looking at her. Padded. Soft, and, errr ... nice.  
IFALNA: _Sitting_. Yes, they're lovely.  
HOJO: Drink?  
IFALNA: Oh, no, thank you.  
HOJO: You never have much, do you?  
_Uneasy pause_.  
HOJO: So, tell me about yourself. You're quite the mysterious lady.  
IFALNA: Oh, I expect darling has already told you everything. He can't resist talking about me to all he meets.  
HOJO: Darling hasn't said anything to me.  
IFALNA: _Giggles_. You know, there was a time when I was scared of you. You seemed so cold and withdrawn into your studies, you did not appear to have a personality. But now, you do. There's something new, invigorated, in your eyes.  
HOJO: What an odd thing to say.  
IFALNA: I'm sorry, I do come out with some strange notions. Darling finds them endearing.  
Pause.  
HOJO: Well, I'm glad you've perked up. You would barely say two words when you first came to Nibelheim. And now you've proved yourself to be a pleasant, engaging young lady. You should go to Midgar. You would fit in there.  
IFALNA: Oh? I would? Do you have fond memories of the city?  
HOJO: _With contempt_. Not in the slightest.  
IFALNA: I'm sorry?  
HOJO: _Brightening_. Oh, no, it was fine really. I studied there. Of course, all the other students went straight to work in the Shin-ra Headquarters. But I -did not. It must have been my inferiority as a scientist.  
IFALNA: _Taking his hand_. Hey! Don't go saying that. That's not true at all. Darling says you're a genius in the making. Promise me that you'll never say that again!  
HOJO: I -  
IFALNA: Repeat after me: I am the greatest scientist alive.  
_Pause_.  
HOJO: I am the greatest scientist alive.  
IFALNA: No one is more knowledgeable than me.  
HOJO: No one is more knowledgeable than me.  
IFALNA: I will keep my findings to myself and everyone will know that I know everything and I will be superior forever!  
HOJO: My my, that's ambitious.  
IFALNA: Say it!  
HOJO: I, errr, will keep my findings to myself and everyone will know that I know everything. And I will be superior -  
IFALNA: Forever!  
HOJO: Forever.  
IFALNA: _Smiling_. That's good. You have to become more confident and positive about yourself. It's something that Lucrecia has taught me. She seems so happy all the time.  
_Pause_.  
Do you really love her?  
HOJO: _Sighs_. That emotion, concerning her, is long gone. I never knew what it was that I felt for her. Perhaps it's hatred, perhaps it's compassion. I've never figured it out. Not until now.  
IFALNA: Ohh? She's a lovely lady.  
HOJO: _Rising_. Lovely... just observe those Cetra eyes. Too perfect. You're too perfect for all this. Then again, so is Jenova.  
IFALNA: What are you talking about?  
HOJO: _As if possessed_. You... are the key to everything... you and Jenova. Ha, and Gast thinks he can leave Her to Her own devices. Leave Her in a tank for all eternity. That is not possible. She needs to be free. She needs to have freedom, as you need to be encaged like the specimen you truly are. Come here, Cetra.  
IFALNA: _Getting up_. St-tay back. I'm leaving now. Just, let's not mention anything to Darling. Please.  
HOJO: _Taking her wrist_. No, we won't say anything to Darling.  
IFALNA: Let go!  
HOJO: _Menacingly_. Listen carefully. Grabbing her from behind. This is too perfect to let go. Everything. I have waited, and this is when I claim my reward, benefits, it will all benefit me in the end. Do you see? I will win. But first ... some things need attention. Like you.  
IFALNA: Leave me out of it. You have a pregnant wife, attend to her. She needs you, you have no use for me. I'm nothing.  
HOJO: _Breathing down her neck_. You're everything, Cetra. I will never relent, not from my hunt for you, not in my search for your children, descendants, anyone related to you. You are the source, the very centre of operations.  
IFALNA: Don't say anymore. Let me go, I don't want to be involved.  
HOJO: You're starting to sound like Lucrecia. Don't try me, Cetra. I'm more powerful than you know.  
IFALNA: What do you want? God, what is it before your eyes, what shields you from reality? You are utterly insane. That was all a façade, wasn't it? What Lucrecia sees in you ... must be how you see yourself. Well, I can see past that. Quiet malice, that's all you have. Unnecessary hatred is all you're offering. You can put on quite an act when you're trying to be a normal human being!  
HOJO: _Pushing her to the ground_. Silence. At least I am a human being! Do you fear me yet? The more you fear me, the more I will try. Yet resistance is futile. When that time comes, when you conceive a child with Gast, I shall know. And Lucrecia shall not be alone anymore.  
IFALNA: If you've hurt her ... You shall never harm any of my children, you, you -  
HOJO: Mwaa ha ha. So hurtful. You had better leave now before something unfortunate happens to you.  
_Exit_ IFALNA.  
HOJO: Yes, run Cetra, but you won't get far. Not far enough away from me.

* * *

Scene Five : Hotel Room One, Nibelheim

LUCRECIA _lies in bed, fatigued. An empty cradle stands at the foot of the bed. It appears to be nightfall_.

_Enter_ HOJO.  
LUCRECIA: You must give me my son. It's been hours. Please.  
HOJO: No.  
LUCRECIA: I'm serious. I need to see him. I need to hold him.  
HOJO: In... time.  
LUCRECIA: Where is Ifalna? Why isn't she here?  
HOJO: She and Gast just left. They send their apologies.  
LUCRECIA: Trying to sit up. Why?  
HOJO: They didn't say.  
LUCRECIA: Where is my son? I'm so tired. I want to see him, and then I shall sleep.  
HOJO: Hmmm.  
LUCRECIA: It's so strange... I can't feel anything. My head hurts more than I've ever known. _Taking the teddy bear from her bed-side table_. Ahhh. He'll love you. Can I see him now?  
HOJO: Be patient, woman.  
_Enter_ VINCENT.  
LUCRECIA: Vincent!  
HOJO: Valentine. What is it?  
VINCENT: _Looking at_ LUCRECIA. I can... hear a baby crying next door.  
LUCRECIA: My baby.  
HOJO: Leave now, Valentine.  
VINCENT: What is going on?  
LUCRECIA: I can hear him ...  
VINCENT: Why is it not in her arms?  
HOJO: Go away!  
LUCRECIA: _Grimacing. _Help me. I'm slipping.  
VINCENT: Lucrecia? What's wrong?  
HOJO: _Moving towards_ LUCRECIA. It's not of your concern ...  
VINCENT: Don't go anywhere near her!  
LUCRECIA: I know what is happening. My poor, poor child. You must stop him, Vincent. You must stop Her, Vincent. If you don't, who knows what horrors may be awaiting my son ...  
_She dies_. VINCENT _lifts her torso up, yet she goes limp in his arms_.  
VINCENT: _Sobbing_. Crecia. Crecia, where are you now?  
BLOIS _peers in through the door, but does not enter. Seeing the situation, he disappears_.  
VINCENT: How did you become such a withered rose? Like a vision, faded into an old oil painting, a mere, poor representation of how you once were. Oh, but you were meant to live as you had dreamed, instead of this hell. The agony we all presented, we never knew the pain you suffered through. We had our own careless trials to contend with, but what of your trial? To overcome the beast, your husband, the wretched spirit you endured, until now. The Jenova Project brought nothing but grief upon you. Is it worth it? How will your child grow up, when will he discover the lies and see the truth? I do not wish to live to see that sorry day arrive. If we all die, and leave the murderer, will he win? Or will the torment finally come to rest on his shoulders?  
HOJO: Fool.  
_Exit_ HOJO.

* * *

Scene Six : The Well, Nibelheim

NEVEER_ is staring at the sky. There is the distant sound of a baby's cries_.

_Enter_ BLOIS.

BLOIS: They're all gone! Everything is becoming an utter disaster. We have to get out of this place.  
NEVEER: What are you talking about?  
BLOIS: Professor Lucrecia! I think she's dead! And Gast and Ifalna left earlier on. I've just seen Vincent pursuing Hojo towards the mansion, and surely they'll fight and one of them will be killed. I'm hoping Hojo will be, because if he lives we'll be goners for sure.  
NEVEER: Why?  
BLOIS: Because we know! We know everything. We may be as stupid as two village idiots sharing one brain-cell, but we know. Hojo's secrets; Lucrecia and Vincent; Ifalna's Ancient blood; Gast's plans. Everything. We'll be gassed, you know.  
NEVEER: Hold on, hold on. So... we pretend that we really are as ignorant as our reputation states. Then we'll be fine. Or we could let him pay us to keep quiet.  
BLOIS: Why pay us when he could easily 'dispose' of us?!  
NEVEER: Listen, Blois. We've learnt a lot during our stay here. We've learnt about what those scientists consider 'fascinating'. We've learnt that we like the same kind of woman. We've learnt about words. We've learnt that the monsters of these parts are not very friendly. And we've learnt what a fatay is. But do they know that? No. Not even Vincent. If we disappeared, right now, if we lay low in Gongaga or Rocket Town for a while, would anyone notice? Probably not. We have taken a back seat in events so far; why don't we continue this trend?  
_Pause_.  
BLOIS: _Optimistically_. Or we could go to Cosmo Canyon. I always wanted to see the 'Eternal Sunset'.  
NEVEER: Be serious, Blois!  
BLOIS: Fine, but we'll have to hurry. I really, really am not in the mood to die.  
NEVEER: I wonder if the van still works ...  
BLOIS: Not enough gas. Besides, we haven't driven for months. We'd be all over the road. We could hit an animal!  
NEVEER: Well I wouldn't mind hitting one of those squirrel monsters that chuck money at you.  
BLOIS: I suppose we ought to give the van a try. If not, we'll have to run.  
NEVEER: Right. Let's go.  
BLOIS: Let's go.  
_Exeunt_.

* * *

Scene Seven : Mansion Library, Nibelheim

HOJO_ is standing motionlessly in the middle of the room. Every now and then, he pats the inside pocket of his lab coat. A second baby cradle stands in a corner, presumably with the baby inside. Somewhere, soft classical music is playing and drifts around the stage_.

_Enter_ VINCENT.  
VINCENT: _Shouting._ This all your doing, Hojo! How could I have not seen tragedy looming towards Lucrecia's misfortunate soul? She did nothing wrong and still you denied her love.  
HOJO: Those words will not sway me.  
VINCENT: You said you would let her see him! You couldn't stop lying to her even at her last breath! She gave you so much yet like the tormentor you are you offered her neither happiness nor reward. You must tell me why. What is the Jenova Project? Why Lucrecia? Is there a reason why Ifalna left in such haste? Whose life are you to ruin next?  
HOJO: Why ask so much of what you can never comprehend?  
VINCENT: Because I loved Lucrecia, and you knew that.  
HOJO: Such a pity. She led you to your downfall. She deceived so many people. She knew exactly what she had to do, but tried to act naïve. A thin veil of deceit over-shadowed her feelings for you.  
VINCENT: But she told me so often of the life she wanted. A beautiful existence, one which she deserved. Those sentiments were not lies. How could they have been? At the end she was reduced to nothing, a barely visible reminiscence of what she once was. But she still dreamed.  
HOJO: _Sighing_. I cannot listen to your pointless accusations. There is still more to be done. I have signed my time away to this project for the next thirty years, maybe more. I have much to accomplish. Pointing to the baby. And that is the key to the next step. Lucrecia had exhausted her uses to me. It has worked out perfectly. All I need now is the other Cetra, but not yet. Wait until she -  
VINCENT: You mean Ifalna? Not another. Leave everyone in peace!  
HOJO: _His hands rubbing his face_. Argh... I cannot listen any longer. You are just another waste of space.  
VINCENT: Hojo ...  
HOJO _pulls out a gun_.  
HOJO: And there is a sure-fire remedy to that problem.  
_He shoots_ VINCENT. VINCENT _staggers, than falls_.  
HOJO: Yes, Valentine. I will make sure that you lie in your coffin until you can longer be a nuisance to me. When I die! But you will have to live eternally in death.

* * *

Scene Eight : Gast's House, Icicle Inn

_Some years later_. IFALNA _has recently given birth to a girl_, AERIS. GAST _is anxious to protect them both from the pursuing eye of_ HOJO _and the Shin-ra_.

_The room is filled with machines and gadgets, a large spotlight in one corner and a camera in the other. A table and a rug are in the centre. Soft piano music is playing, drowning out the icy wind outside_. GAST _and _IFALNA _are sitting at the table. The baby is out of sight in the next room_.

_Enter_ HOJO, NEVEER_ and_ BLOIS. _The music stops abruptly_.  
GAST: Hojo! Look, there is nothing for you here.  
_The lights flicker_.  
HOJO: What a reunion. It is a shame we are missing two.  
NEVEER _and _BLOIS_ look down at their feet_.  
NEVEER: _Quietly_. How on earth did he manage to drag us here ...?  
GAST: All right. Talk to me about everything, Hojo, take me away if you must. But leave Ifalna, please leave her alone.  
HOJO: Save the useless pleas. Do tell me, Professor, how old is the child?  
GAST: If you must know, twenty days. You're not to touch her either!  
IFALNA: _Moving towards_ HOJO. You said it was me, didn't you? I am the one you need. Well, you can take me now. But only me. Aeris... is not like me. There is not the same glow in her eyes.  
HOJO: I am having trouble believing you.  
IFALNA: No, I am not lying. So take me away. I... do not mind. I can accept the horrific things awaiting me. But I could not bear the thought of my child suffering. I know what happened to Lucrecia, and it broke my heart to hear of her painful end. It hardly seems possible. So please, I do not want Aeris to face the torment of an empty life with white walls blocking the light.  
_The lights flicker again_.  
GAST: Ifalna ...  
HOJO: So many protestations over all these years. I have heard silly pleas and desperate cries, yet all these are hindrances to greater things. By succumbing to science, you will create a better understanding of how we have come to be here. Everyone will know everything. Is that not a benefit to the world?  
GAST: That does not even compare with human emotions! That is something you have yet to learn. Ifalna and Aeris are to remain with me. They will live with love around them. They shall never be cold. They shall never be alone.  
HOJO: I beg to differ. Blois, raise your gun.  
BLOIS _uncertainly does so_.  
HOJO: Quieten his whining once and for all.  
_Pause_.  
HOJO: Shoot him!  
IFALNA: No!  
BLOIS: _Shaking_. Why? Sir?  
HOJO: If you don't, I will make Neveer shoot you. And then he will have to shoot Gast.  
BLOIS: Oh god.  
NEVEER: I've heard enough. This is ridiculous. _He raises his gun at_ HOJO. This is much more acceptable.  
GAST: Now, steady on ...  
NEVEER: Shut up! I'm going to do what I should have done in Nibelheim.  
IFALNA: Stop it, all of you!  
HOJO: Neveer, what a traitor you are.  
NEVEER: Me? A traitor? No no, you are. Look at what happened to Miss Lucrecia. This is for Vincent as well. We know what went on there too.  
_In an instant_, HOJO _darts to the side_. _The lights suddenly go out completely. In response to_ HOJO'S _movement_, NEVEER_ lets off a shot_.  
GAST: Gyaa ...  
_The lights flash back on_. GAST _slumps to the floor_.  
IFALNA: Darling!  
NEVEER: I... I... how?  
HOJO: Well done Neveer. I would have given you a bonus if you weren't originally aiming for me. It is a good thing that you are a worse marksman than even Blois. And he is awful.  
NEVEER: Bastard. Bastard, Bastard.  
BLOIS: Neveer, I ...  
NEVEER: DAMN IT!  
GAST: Do not worry Neveer... it was inevitable.  
IFALNA: _Weeping_. My love has disappeared to dust.  
HOJO: Now, if you would like me to forget this little performance, Neveer, you will hide the body and take the Cetra woman away. Blois, go and get the child.  
BLOIS: _Subdued, slowly walking offstage_. Yes sir.  
NEVEER _moves towards_ GAST'S body. _As he passes, he lightly touches_ IFALNA'S _hand_. HOJO _smirks to himself, satisfied at last_. _The lights slowly fade and the wind outside dies down._

* * *

Scene Nine : ????

_The stage is in complete blackness. A small girl_, AERIS _as a child, walks in from upstage, a tiny light following her. She sits down, downstage, her head lowered_. VINCENT'S _voice is heard_.

VINCENT: For now, I sleep. The darkness is my friend through the lost years. That is how I wish to be left. In a way, I have not lost. I have peace in my solitude. But his hand guided my fate to this coffin-shaped existence. So in a way, he has won.

And in the night, she, this child, is rocked by an invisible mother to sleep. Ifalna sleeps in the next cell, dreaming of what lies beyond the wall. The child speaks single words to people who do not want to hear them. She holds no defence against cruelty and lies. He does not need to act any longer. His performance has ended.

And now Hojo's malice has spread to this child.

AERIS _looks at the audience, giving them a knowing glance, and then faintly smiles. She lies down and prepares to sleep, in her isolated, dark spot in the world. The light fades._


End file.
